India testing if it can run 350-kmph bullet train

India testing if it can run 350-kmph bullet train

Can India have its first bullet train that would run at a speed of 350 km per hour?

The proposal is being explored by Indian Railways with the help of three companies, including a French and an Italian firm.

The report of the feasibility study, being conducted on 533-km long Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad section, is expected to be submitted next month that will give an idea to the government whether or not to go ahead with such a proposal.

"After examining the report, we will decide on the next course of action," a senior railway official told PTI. Click NEXT to read on further. . .

India testing if it can run 350-kmph bullet train

"At present there is no such proposal to seek Japanese assistance on bullet train. But it can be explored only after examining various factors including the cost and the pre-feasibility report," said the official.

The bullet train at 350 km per hour speed aims to reduce the travel time between Pune and Mumbai to just 25 minutes and the travel time from Mumbai to Ahmedabad will shrink to less than two hours.

Travel time between the 93 km Pune-Mumbai is three hours while journey on 440 km long Mumbai-Ahmedabad takes about 7 hours. The study will focus on technicalities, financial and operational viability of the project.

Image: This montage picture shows Japan's bullet train, the 500-type Nozomi, developed by the West Japan Railway Co.Photographs: Reuters

India testing if it can run 350-kmph bullet train

Railways have decided to conduct feasibility study for high speed corridors on six routes, including Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad. The other routes are Delhi-Patna, Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar, Howrah-Haldia, Hyderabad-Dornakal-Vijaywada-Chennai and Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Ernakulum routes for the proposed high speed train.

"We will take up the Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar route for feasibility study next," said the official.

Image: Japan Railway's new N700 bullet train stands at a platform of Tokyo Station in Tokyo.Photographs: Toru Hanai/Reuters

India testing if it can run 350-kmph bullet train

States such as Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Punjab, Maharashtra, Kerala, West Bengal have agreed to partly fund the project.Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar route is the next to be taken up for the pre-feasibility study, the official said.

The feasibility studies will be followed by detailed project reports which will focus on funding plan, stakeholders' view among others before beginning the work.

The study on the bullet train project is required for the involvement of financial institutions and industries, while the government will give stress on viability gap funding.

Image: Stationary high speed trains TGV are seen in the Lyon Perrache railway station in Lyon, southeastern France.Photographs: Robert Pratta/Reuters